


a little bit of robbery every now and then never really hurt anyone

by Saucy_monksandmore



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mark is a sweetheart, Mark needs help, No Smut, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, actually everyone is a sweetheart, but also angsty, but we must protect mark, donghyuck is a sweetheart, enjoy, everyone has a soft spot for mark lee, im sorry mark, its kinda fluffy, jihyo is his unofficial mom btw, johnny also loves mark, let the poor child sleep, life sucks, robber, side relationships eventually, ten loves mark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-08 05:46:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17380736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saucy_monksandmore/pseuds/Saucy_monksandmore
Summary: "Quick question, what are you doing in my house?""Well the plan was to rob you but... how in the world do you live? You have nothing here except for a mattress...""I'm broke?"Mark Lee is an incredibly broke college student who cant take care of himself and overworks himself to the point of exhaustion.When Mark comes home one night to see a person in his house who was planning on robbing him but turns out to instead be horrified by the way Mark has to live.Marks life is flipped upside down when the robber takes it upon himself to take care of the poor boy who doesn't know how to ask for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic at 12 am while procrastinating my Forensics homework, I hope you like the result of my amazing talent of doing everything in my power to not do what i am supposed to do but still manage to get it done. (Yes, i did manage to finish my homework) 
> 
> Anyways i hope you enjoy!
> 
> (unedited)

“See you tomorrow Mark!” Johnny Hyung yelled to me as I was walking out the door after my shift ended to head home. I tiredly waved back to him and left the little family café that runs 24/7 for those desperate college students (like me). I automatically walk past the bus stop knowing it is too late and the buses aren’t running at this time. The café is about a 30-minute walk from the area of the city where I live.

I guess you could say I live in the “bad” part of town, most people just think it is the hood or the projects which annoys me because it doesn’t feel dangerous at all. Well, it is technically the hood or whatever people call it now but that isn’t the point. When I first moved here, I was terrified because the day I got the keys to my little apartment there just happened to be an ambulance and several police cars outside. I just chose to ignore it because this is the only place I could afford as an extremely broke college student. (I later found out a guy a few houses down had been killed because of something to do with a drug dealer.)

As I walked down the streets, slowly the high-rises shrank and instead of windows there were boarded up windows and stores with locked gates. It was close to 1 am, a time most people would be terrified to walk regular streets let alone this neighborhood. When I finally reached my apartment building which looked more like one of those shitty motels where the doors are outside and the staircases looked more like those for fire escapes, I walked past a group of 5 guys sitting on the metal staircase that I need to go up to get to my apartment. 

“Aye, Mark!” One of the guys yelled to me and despite being exhausted I smiled at him. Some of my friends were scared shitless when they first met these guys, I can’t blame them. They do look scary dressed in dark colors and had a bad habit of smoking at the entrance of the complex in the middle of the night. (I also know for a fact at least one of them always has a gun or knife on him, I didn’t tell my friends that.) 

Even though they aren’t the best people in standards of typical morality, they are the closest thing to family I will ever get. 

The guy who yelled at me was Jackson, he is a few years older than me but treats me like his best friend. I met him first because he happens to live next door to me. The others in the group were Jeon Jungkook, Min Yoongi, Nakamoto Yuta, and finally the “Leader” of the group Ten. (He pretends that his isn’t the leader but we all know the truth.) 

“You’re back late again, it is almost 1 am and you have class in the morning. You look exhausted, you need to stop taking the late shifts.” Yoongi Hyung tells me from the wall he is leaning on, his face impassive as always. (I know his true personality, he took me to a dog shelter once and I know he is soft.) I can’t help but disagree with his statement though, Johnny Hyung is working right now till 5 am and I know he is tired. I feel like I should be there with him but he literally smacked me upside the head with a dishrag when I suggested the idea to him. 

(“Ow! What was that for!” I whined while rubbing the back of my head. I looked up at the elder who just rolled his eyes at me.

“You are a kid, you go to school. It isn’t healthy for you to stay up all night working. Absolutely not.” He replied and all I could do was pout in response. “I’m almost 20, that is not a kid.” I thought to myself.)

Ten Hyung stands up from his sitting position on the stairs and walks toward me while putting out his cigarette. I usually think that I can put up a good front with people so they can’t tell how I’m feeling but Ten is different. He takes one look at my face and a sad expression crosses his face so I know he sees right through my facade. Ten Hyung sighs before pulling something out of his pocket and putting in my hand, I look down to see a bracelet. Since the only light being provided is a very dim and orange streetlamp, I can’t see the bracelet very well but from what I can see it looks almost like one of those friendship bracelets but with beads braided into it. I look back up at Ten Hyung’s face curiously as I wonder why he is giving this to me.

“My Grandmother made it in Thailand and my cousin sent it here, it’s a gift for you.” Ten Hyung gives me a tired smile when I look up in surprise at his answer. Why is a giving me a gift? Its not Christmas or my birthday (not that get much or any presents at all on those days anyways) so why did he want to give this to me? 

“U-uh…” I stutter trying to come up with a response but he interrupts me.

“Its because you work so hard and never get anything for yourself. I figured even if it is small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things it is still nice.” I look back down at the bracelet and try to come up with any words of gratitude. He seems to see the look in my face and smiles at my emotionally constipated reaction to this oddly personal gift. “Anyways, I have so many of these and I don’t need anymore!” He laughs while patting my back and saving me from having to thank him.

He knows me better than anyone, he knows I am moved. His ‘insignificant’ gift actually means so much to me and I am so grateful.

“Go to sleep! Go, Go!” Jungkook laughs before practically dragging me to the stairs. “Onward!” I let out a tired laugh at him as he pushes me up the stairs. As I am slowly making my way to my little apartment I glance back down at the bracelet in my hand and put it in my jacket pocket carefully.

“Go to sleep!” I hear a voice yell at me while I am unlocking my apartment door and I chuckle. I try to open my door only to realize it is locked. Confused, I put the little key back in the door and unlock it.

“That’s weird, did I leave the door unlocked?” I ask myself as I walk into the tiny hallway of my run-down apartment. I make sure I lock the door this time and take off my shoes, I’m so exhausted I don’t even go to the main room but instead lean against the grimy yellow stained wall. Closing my eyes, I almost fall asleep then and there until I hear footsteps from further in the room. 

On high alert, I quietly stand up and tip toe into the living room because regardless of how many people I trust here, I still live in a dangerous crime ridden area. I look into the living room (I don’t think it really can qualify as a living room very much) and surprisingly I see a figure in all black clothes and a mask. 

He hasn’t seen me yet and I don’t see any visible weapons on him. I decide I really just want to get this situation over with, I let my sleep deprived mind make the rash decision of turning on the light. My rational mind catching up a second too late, to realize what I’ve done. 

The guy quickly turns to face me and freezes while my only thoughts are how I am such a goddamn idiot. I literally just announced my presence to him, for all I know he has a knife hidden on his being or backup. Idiot, idiot, idiot.

“Uh, Hello?” Why am I like this? Did I literally just say fucking hello to a person who quite possible can kill me? “I just have three quick questions for you Mr. whomever you are.” Wow, so polite Mark. You might as well ask him if he wants to have a cup of tea as well. “Who are you? Why exactly are you in my apartment? And lastly, what do you want?” 

He just stands still looking at me with a deer caught in headlights expression. No matter how surprisingly afraid(?) he looks right now, all my exhaustion has disappeared and I am ready to get Ten Hyung and the others if he tries anything. We stare at each other for a minute, silence enveloping the space, before I hear a sigh come from him and he takes his black facemask off.

My eyes widen at the act of the boy and I feel frozen. My first thought is “Hey, he is pretty cute” which is not how I believed I was going to react to the situation at hand. The boy in front of me seems to be around my age with golden tan skin and honey brown hair, his lips are heart shaped while his face is soft but grown up in a way. I am snapped back to reality when the boy speaks.

“Well I was here to, you know, steal your stuff but now…” The boy has a silky voice (I scold myself internally at my thoughts) and looks around the room. “How in the world do you live? I came here because I knew for sure that a college student lived here but when I broke in, I honestly doubted myself. There is nothing!” The boys face shows a mix of disbelief and a little sadness? Why would he feel sad for me? 

I look around the single room apartment, the most I have in here is an old mattress on the ground in the corner with a small blanket and a little coffee table that is low to the ground. My kitchen is practically empty, no food or anything except a few granola bars, a water bottle and some paper plates on the counter. The apartment had visible water damage and the walls were stained a grimy shade of yellow. 

“U-um, I’m broke?” I accidentally phrased my response as a question and the boy just started intensely staring at me. After a minute or two, I started to grow fidgety and uncomfortable with his eyes looking like they were trying to figure out my deepest secrets. 

“Why did you even come back this late?” The mysterious boy asked with almost a look of worry? “You look dead tired.” He continued on and I felt overwhelmed, I was not expecting a robber to break into my house, proceed to worry about me and then interrogate me. 

“I was just coming home from work.” I rubbed the nape of my neck, a nervous habit, while the boy somehow managed to add more disbelief in his expression.

“Where the hell makes you work this late? You should go to sleep, I’ll leave. Goodnight.” The boy suddenly stated he was leaving my tired mind frozen from disbelief. I just looked at the boy as he walked straight out of my apartment and waved at me goodbye. 

“What the hell just happened?” I whispered to myself confused while just standing in the same spot. Eventually my exhaustion won over my thoughts and I just laid down in my bed almost instantaneously passing out.


	2. 2

I feel like I was hit by a truck. Sitting in this lecture is absolute torture at the moment, my head has had a dull pain since I woke up and I can’t focus on anything. 

My mind seemed to have automatically sorted last night into a ‘hallucinations from sleep deprivation’ file but I know that it actually happened. 

And I’m confused. 

None of it makes any logical sense. Why would someone break into my (shitty) apartment to rob me, wait till I got home, then criticized my living habits, proceeded to confuse the shit out of me, and then told me to go to sleep and goodnight? What kind of robber breaks into someone’s house and says goodnight to you? 

What kind of life have I gotten into?

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by my professor dismissing the class. As quickly as I can, I leave the lecture hall and head to work. I mentally run through my schedule for today to keep myself busy. I work at the diner till 4 pm then I start my shift at Johnny’s cafe at 6pm until 11pm. That leaves me 2 hours in between to work on my assignment that is due next week. If all goes well, I should be home by midnight which is better than usual. 

Once I reach the diner, I notice how many cars are in the parking lot and my motivation drops. Its busy today and I can practically feel my headache worsening at the thought of dealing with all those customers. I take a quick breath in and calm my heart down before walking into the little restaurant from the staff door in the back. 

“Hey Mark! How are you?” Jungwoo immediately greets me as if he knew I was going walk through that door. Despite my coworker being a usual ball of fluff, I can tell he is stressed. His notepad he takes orders on is nearly empty from all the customers and his hair is messed up from running his fingers through it. 

“Good, I’m doing good.” I say to him with my happy voice I use with most people. I tie my waiters’ apron around my waist and double check to make sure I have everything. Pens? Check. Notepad? Check. Straws? Check. After I go through my mental checklist of what I need, I look back up at Jungwoo whose face is overwhelmed by the sheer number of dishes to bring out. “Jungwoo, let me take some of those for you. Don’t have a breakdown.” Jungwoo looks at me with his eyes wide and thankful. I give him a cheerful smile while taking a tray with four dishes balancing on it on my hand. I check the table number and step out into the chaos of the Diner. 

Every table is filled and more people are waiting for a table. It was strangely comforting to hear the mixture of families laughing and old music playing through the jukebox. I weave in and out of people, briefly passing one of my coworkers and saying a quick hello to them. Making it to the table, I give the food to the family of four. 

“Enjoy your food, my name is Mark if you need anything.” I tell them and the mother nods at me while smiling. I looked over at her two daughters who were whispering in each other’s ears and occasionally laughing at what the other said. A small feeling of nostalgia and envy rise in me while looking at the family and I quickly push the emotions away. 

I can’t get distracted.

I walk over to another table with my tray tucked under my arm and my notepad ready to take their order. Then I do what I’m best at – working until I can no longer think about what is bothering me.

“Hello, my name is Mark. I will be your server today. What would you like to drink today?”

 

My shift finally ended and I feel like I can finally breathe when I reach the staff room. Taking off my apron and putting it in my little locker I realize how much pain I am in. 

“Fuck.” I mumble to myself and lean my forehead against the cold metal of the locker. Between the loud combination of families enjoying themselves and music continuously playing through the speakers, the dull thudding of my headache intensified into sharp pains that you feel with a migraine.

“Hey Mark, you alright?” A feminine voice echoes off the walls of the empty room. I look up to see Jihyo, who was the owner of the Diner along with her sister Dahyun, staring at me with a hint of concern you would see on the face of a mother (like Ten, she seemed to have taken up the job of trying to take care of me, I pity her.) 

“Mmhm, yeah, I’m good.” I give her my little smile that everybody seems to like to try and reassure her but like Ten, she is good at seeing through my façade. I flinch when another sharp pain engulfs my head and Jihyo frowns at me. 

“Mark, you work too hard. You should go home and get some rest, you are going to hurt yourself if you keep pushing yourself like this.” Worry lines her words and I sigh in response. Truthfully, I want to take a break, to just sleep for a month straight and not have to worry about anything. I look up at her and I feel a sense of comfort, her short brown hair with her blue and white checkered dress, she reminds me so much of…

No, not today. Do not bring back those memories today, you can’t afford it. 

Despite how tempting her suggestion sounds, I can’t. I can’t slack off or else will lose everything. I make eye contact with her and I can feel her deep brown eyes trying to break my shell but I just shook my head and looked away. I tried to ignore the look of disappoint that flashed across her face as I grabbed my bookbag and slid it on. 

“Don’t worry Jihyo, I’m doing fine. Ill see you on Friday.” I wave bye to her and leave the building. I look up at the sky and damn it, it is going to rain. I take a deep breath before I start walking to Johnny’s café which is fairly close to the Diner thankfully. 

As I am walking, my headache seems to just be getting more and more intense with every step I take. I try my best to ignore the pain but it just gets harder to do, I can’t get any work done if I let the pain take over and then I’ll be slacking off. 

That is a big nope in my book.

By the time I make it to Johnny’s, the rain started to lightly fall. I quickly enter the café and I am greeted with the little bell sound that rings whenever there is a new customer. I allow myself to bask in the ambient music that plays throughout the room for a moment.

“Hey Mark.” I look up to see one of my friends and coworker Jaemin behind the counter and I smile at him. 

“Hey, how are you?” I ask him and he shrugs while grinning at me. 

“Just peachy, are you going to study?” He asks me curiously and I nod. Unfortunately, the sudden jerk of my head causes another sharp flash of pain in my head and I can’t help my face from scrunching up in pain. “Dude, are you okay?” I see Jaemin wearing the same worried look Jihyo was giving me earlier and I hate it. 

“Yeah, its all good. I’m going to be by the window.” I tell him and immediately make my way toward my spot before I could gauge Jaemins reaction. I sit down at a two-person table next to the large windows, I unofficially claimed this table as my own and now everyone just calls it ‘Marks Spot’. I don’t love it because it has the most comfortable chairs or the heater is right above the table so it is always warm during winter, but instead I like it for the view. It is just peaceful to me to see the outside world without necessarily being apart of it. I like seeing people walk their dogs or kids holding hands so they don’t lose each other, I like hearing an seeing the rain without worrying about getting wet, although there is one thing that I love most from this spot. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday there is an old couple who walks the street like clockwork. Sometimes they just sit on the bench outside and read while other times they play games like they are little kids again. (My personal favorite was witnessing them play hopscotch against two teenagers.) 

I have never said a word to them before but for some unknown reason, that couple comforts me. 

Maybe it is because they are comfortable with who they are and they life they live or maybe it is how when they are together, they just seem to radiate a level of happiness that seems unattainable. Either way, I am pretty sure I will never get the happy ending they seemed to have made for themselves but it allows me to hope just a little bit.

I take out my work that I need to do for my assignment when another flash of pain takes my attention away. Every time they come, they just get worse and it is almost impossible for me to just ignore it. I push my palms on my temples hoping the pressure will relieve some of the pain. I don’t know how long I sit there in that position for, but I must have spaced out because I am suddenly aware of everything around me when an object drops on the table in front of me. 

“Mark.” I stare at the umbrella in front of me and I make eye contact with Johnny who is now sitting in the seat across from me. “Mark? Are you there?” Johnny waved his hand in front of my face to get my attention, I didn’t realize I had zoned out again and sheepishly looked away from him. I got another flash of pain and without realizing it, I groaned in pain and put my hand on my head. 

“Damn it,” I looked up to see Johnny looking at me like a disappointed father, “Why is it still raining?” I tried to pass off my last statement with that but instead I just sounded like a weatherman questioning his job. His expression of disappoint deepens and I sigh knowing what he is about to lecture me on.

“Why did you come? It’s obvious you are in a lot of pain right now,” Johnny pushed the umbrella towards me, “Take it, I want you to go home and rest.” I look at him in disbelief.

“B-but my shift is in an hour,” I stuttered over my words as sudden panic took over my senses, “I need to work, I said I would work and I will! I’m not a slacker.” I muttered the last part of my rambling mostly to myself. “I will not be a slacker, I need to work!” I looked Johnny in the eyes desperate to make him understand but all I saw was sadness. 

“Mark…” Started saying something but my anxiety filled mind made me worry that he hated me now so I tried to defend myself. 

“Please Johnny, I swear I am not lazy! I need to work, I need to work.” My head started hurting even more and it momentarily distracted me from my rambling. My face scrunched up as a reaction and I put my head in my hands again. 

“Mark, you are working yourself to hard. I want you to go home and sleep. I don’t hate you and there is no way anyone in the world could even consider you lazy, but you are in pain. Go,” Johnny gestured for me to leave and I just stared at him. “Go home.” 

“Fine.” He looks satisfied when I finally give in but that doesn’t make the guilt go away. I slowly pack up my stuff hoping he will change his mind but he just looks at me and tells me to hurry up. I hear Jaemin yell goodbye to me as Johnny is practically pushing me out the door. 

“Have fun on your off day!” Johnny smirks at me and closes the door the second I’m outside. Scowling, I open the umbrella and walk towards the bus stop. This is one of the first times I can actually take the bus home instead of walking all the way there, and as much as I hate that I am not working, it is kind of relieving at the same time. 

I make it to the stop where I can have a break from the rain, despite the umbrella my ankles and shoes are soaked. I sit down on one of the cold metal benches and wait for the bus, during the five minutes I was waiting an old man came over. He was standing partially in the rain because there were no seats left and I felt guilty. Why am I sitting down? I should give my seat the man, I don’t want him to get sick from the cold rain. 

“Here, you can have my seat.” I quickly stand up and offer the seat to him while the man just looks surprised at my actions.

“Are you sure? You would end up in the rain.” He looks at me hesitantly and I just smile at him and hold up the umbrella. 

“I’m fine, you sit down please.” The man nods at me giving me a little smile and sitting down in the seat. I open the umbrella and stand partially in the rain but ignore how my legs are getting more and more wet because of the old man who is no long in the same position. While I am standing here, a bus comes that unfortunately is not my bus but when it stops a girl comes out. 

She stands under the cover for the rain looking stressed, she is wearing nice work clothes and her hair is done fancily in braids. I notice she doesn’t have an umbrella, that is why she must be freaking out. She is looking out at a building but there is no way for her to get their dry. I look at my umbrella and let out a little sigh, she needs it more than me. I hand the umbrella to the girl who looks at me with almost the same expression that the old man gave me.

“What are you doing?” She asks me confused and is eyeing the umbrella warily.

“Take it, I am almost home anyways and you look stressed out.” I tell her while she just stares at me. I hold it closer to her and gesture for her to take it again. Hesitantly, she takes the umbrella from my grasp and I smile at her. 

“How will I give it back to you?” She asks me while looking at me curiously.

“Just bring it to Johnny’s Café down the street whenever you are free. You can give it to any of the workers there.” I instruct her as my bus arrives. “Anyways, have a good day!” I tell her enthusiastically and start to get on the bus without looking behind me. When I make it to an empty seat I look out of the window and at the girl. To my surprise she is already looking at me and smiling, I wave back before she opens the umbrella and takes off through the rain to whichever building she needed to go to. 

Once the small high of happiness wears off, I expect myself to feel guilty still for not working but the emotion never comes. Instead I am hit with an overwhelming amount of exhaustion paired with the headache that won’t let me function normally. It is very frustrating to me, I feel weak and helpless. I hate it when other people feel like they are obligated to take care of me, I am just an unnecessary burden on their lives and I don’t want to make their lives harder. 

The bus finally gets to my stop and when I get off it is pouring even harder. I wrap my jacket tighter around me in a useless attempt to shield myself from the harsh rain, I debate on running to the apartment block but my legs feel like lead and my head is flashing with pain as fast as a machine gun spits out bullets. So, I decide to walk it out.

Within my first few steps I am completely soaked but there is nothing I can do about it now except pull my hood further down. The clouds are so heavy that it makes everything dark and nightlike. I am shivering when I make it to the apartment block, but I don’t even notice because my headache feels amplified and thinking about anything else than the pain is almost impossible. Slowly I make it to my room, I unlock the door automatically but I don’t notice that the lights are on inside until after I enter. 

I take off my wet shoes that are more than likely ruined considering they weren’t in very good condition in the first place and my jacket as well. When I turn around, that is when I notice the abnormality in my small apartment. A boy, the same tan (and slightly gorgeous) from the other night is sitting on my kitchen counter staring at me.

“What’s up dude?”


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter :(
> 
> it was supposed to be much longer, i had most of it written actually but my computer decided to not be a computer anymore and delete it. i was working on a project for school with my friend when my computer decided to restart on its own and it deleted what i had already written.
> 
> you could say i was frustrated, but i rewrote some of it and i am going to make the second half part of the next chapter, anyways, i hope you like this!
> 
> also quick side note - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS COMMENTED AND LIKED MY STORY!!!! it honestly means so much to me and i cant believe people actually like my writing! ive been in a pretty bad mental state lately but every time you commented, it made me feel so much better so thank you!
> 
> my twitter is @saucymonks i dont post much but feel free to talk to me if you want!
> 
> THIS IS NOT EDITED, I REPEAT THIS IS NOT EDITED

Have you ever been in a moment so surreal that your mind can’t fully process what is happening at that moment? Yeah, well imagine if you are extremely sleep deprived and had just been in an equally confusing situation the night before because that is me right now. 

I am caught just staring dumbly at tan boy sitting on my kitchen counter. The same boy who broke into my apartment less than 24 hours ago claiming he was going to rob me but then proceeded to critise my life choices (as if he was doing much better, just look back at his reasoning for being in my house in the first place.) I should be freaking out and yelling for Ten, Yoongi, Jackson, literally anyone but instead of using common sense, my sleep deprived ass can only think ‘wow, he is cute.’ 

Fucking hell, why is my gay ass like this? (Not technically gay, just bi as hell but oh well.)

“Uh…” he smirks a little at my confusion, “Nothing much, just you know,” I awkwardly gesture to the door and he chuckles at me. His amused expression immediately disappears when he sees my hand shaking violently, as if it is trying to escape from my body. He hops off the counter, landing on the ground like a graceful cat and walking towards me with a weird expression on his face. Once again, my mind can only thing of one thing. 

‘I like cats.’ (Shut the FUCK up please.)

“Dude, did you not have an umbrella? You are going to get sick! Look at you, you have so much water on you the floor looks like a lake.” Not fully understanding what is currently going on, I look down at the floor to see that I have indeed made a giant puddle on the wood. The cute boy looks at me concerned but I feel numb. I can’t feel my body shivering or my clothes that are sticking to me like glue. 

“Well I did have one, but a girl needed it more so I lent it to her at the bus stop.” The words come out quietly and you can hear the wavering in it, he just looks at me in disbelief. 

“Get changed,” he commands me and I nod instantly while my eyes remain staring at my feet. “you are going to get sick, god this is not how I thought my week was going to go.” He mutters the last part to himself as he walks back towards my kitchen and starts rummaging through the cabinets for something. I immediately head towards my little dresser and grab dry clothes for me to change into. 

I walk into my tiny bathroom and lock the door behind me before beginning to change. I slowly peel of the clothes that are drenched and pull on the dry sweatpants. I avoid looking in the mirror as I pull on my sweatshirt and I lay my wet clothes in my bathtub to dry out. When I finally step out of the bathroom, I see the boy cooking something which surprises me because I was unaware, I had food in the first place. It is strangely comforting to see, it makes me feel more relaxed so I sit down and just observe the boy (the very cute boy whose name I don’t know). 

His body is skinny but not unhealthy and his skin is a golden tan that complements is honey brown hair perfectly. He is wearing a large, black knit sweater and skinny jeans that honestly make him look adorable. This feels oddly domestic and I never knew I would like this picture so much.

Okay, calm down lover boy. You can’t get too comfortable, you don’t need to drag him into your mess of a life. 

“I don’t remember having any food.” I tell him and his shoulders slightly shake from him sighing. Now that the previous numbness I felt has worn off, I am hit full force with my exhaustion and I have to prevent myself from falling asleep instantly.

“I bought you some, that’s why I was here.” The boy tells me and my eyebrows furrow in confusion. 

“Oh…” He laughs at my face and slide a bowl of hot ramyun towards me. 

“Eat it,” the boy commands while handing me a spoon and chopsticks, “I wasn’t expecting you to come back so early, I assumed you were supposed to work tonight Mark.” I look at him surprised that he knew my name and he had an expression of shock as well.

“Uh, I was supposed to but Johnny made me go home.” I mumble to myself before realization dawns on me, “Oh FUCK! I have to finish my project.” The boy looks at me with complete amazement as I jump up from my spot on the ground (because I don’t have chairs, or a table for that matter) and grab my bookbag. I seem to forget about my body’s plead for sleep as I find something to occupy myself with. 

“You don’t know how to take a break, do you?” He asks himself as I set up my laptop, the boy sighs and walks towards me. 

“Mark, Mark…” he sighs at my unresponsiveness, “Damnit, MARK!” he yells at me and picks up my laptop while moving it out of my reach. “You need to sleep, this can wait.” He tells me and I just stare at him. 

“How do you know who I am?” I ask him curiously and his face just looks at me with disbelief again. That seems to happen a lot when we interact, him being baffled and me being confused.

“I’ve seen you at Johnny’s before and school. Plus, Jaemin won’t stop talking about you, I’m pretty sure you’re his role model or something because he really looks up to you.” He tells me and suddenly my headache hits me again. Funny, I didn’t even know it was gone in the first place. “By the way, I’m Donghyuck.” The boy, I mean Donghyuck, tells me but I can’t pay attention to him because the pain in my head is too much to bear.

I stand up to get a glass of water hoping it will calm the pain in my head while Donghyuck stares at me worriedly.

“Hey, Mark, are you okay?” He asks but I can’t hear him anymore due to the blood pounding in my ears. Before I can start walking, I get hit with an immense amount of pain that I just can’t handle. Before I know it, my eyes roll into the back of my head and I crumple to the floor. My body is a mixture of pain and exhaustion, I barely register Donghyuck panicking above me.

“Fuck, MARK! What’s happening? MARK!” Everything goes black.


End file.
